Religious Syncretism and Dispute Settlement: A Study of Sufi Shrine in North Eastern Ethiopia

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The study deals with the significant role traditional institutions, specifically shrines, play in conflict resolution. Researches done so far on different shrines in Ethiopia mostly focused on providing the historical background of their establishments, on the spiritual dimension and on some rituals like pilgrimage to these centers, and group prayers conducted at such institutions. However, various institutions in the country play a multi dimensional role ranging from carrying out the spiritual mission of preaching, serving as centers of learning, serving as centers of redistribution to their role of reconciling conflicts of diverse nature. The role these institutions play in mitigating, preventing and reconciling conflicts is a topic that has received little or no attention. This research deals with this topic and it tries to give an insight by presenting ethnographic data of a shrine located in the Oromiya zone of Amhara regional State called the shine of Tiru Sina.